New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region, abutting Buzzards Bay. At the 2020 census, New Bedford had a population of 101,079, making it the state's ninth-largest city and the largest of the South Coast region. It is the second-largest city in the Providence metropolitan area and included in the greater Boston combined statistical area.